It’s this Friday [September 30, 2005] at 8pm at K Lounge, 30 W 52nd St between Fifth and Sixth Avenues (thanks Yehudit for the correction). There are over 70 bloggers currently RSVP’d to attend. If you’re in the NY area this weekend, come on by.

A student for a class at FCI interviewed us recently …
Among other questions, we were asked:

Q: What inspired you … to create a website devoted to food, amongst other things?

A: Friends and family inspired A Guy In New York. Over the past 20 years or so, hundreds of people have suggested that Peter write a book about living and eating well in NYC … and it is much easier to do a blog than a book. Peter enjoys eating at NYC restaurants 2 or 3 times each week, which he has been doing for more than 30 years.

Q: Do you feel restaurant websites and food blogs are slowly replacing newspapers and magazines?

A: Food blogs and other dining sites are not replacing food writing in newspapers and magazine, they complement and supplement it. It is now much easier to get a wide variety of opinion about different restaurants, something that is facilitated in NYC especially by the existence of MenuPages and Citysearch with reader comments, and forums such as Chowhound.
However, the big issue remains of whose taste you agree with and trust.
Peter has friends who love places that he does not like. That doesn’t make them bad places, just not places he can recommend.
And there are restaurants that he believes embody the best of Asian cooking, while friends of his do not rave about them like he does. Part of that is explained by the fact that Peter experienced authentic Malaysian and Chinese cooking in Asia for his first 20 years, and he brought those preferences with him to the U.S. So, part of his preferences are due to Peter establishing his taste for Asian food … in Asia.
We also like spicy food, but not when spices are used to cover up mediocre and less-than-fresh ingredients.Q: Do you use Open Table?A: We do not use Open Table, as we normally don’t eat at places that require a reservation. Peter believes restaurants that require reservations don’t need his business, especially when there are so many excellent restaurants in NYC where you can dine without a reservation. Competition is great for good dining. Also, many restaurants that say they require reservations can often fit you in.
We are primarily concerned with the consistent quality of the food served, and prefer simple, fresh ingredients. And although we enjoy food that is artfully presented, presentation, ambience and service are less important to us than eating food that is consistently fresh and spiced and cooked properly.Q: Where or what do you turn to for food information?A: We talk to our friends and wait staff, and we look at all of the major reviewers and numerous food blogs. We especially like the very simple restaurant reviews that appear at the bottom of Steve Forbes “Fact and Comment” column in Forbes magazine, and have agreed with most all of them. We believe the restaurant reviews in Forbes are far less influenced by PR than some others.
We have also become more familiar with the many excellent NYC food blogs by putting together our weekly “This Week In Reviews.”
The list of NYC food blogs and reviewers we look at are on our Good Eats page.

We’re looking for other comedy food blogs … like … The Bruni Digest … and Drones Club …Drones Club, written by Cornelius Bear, is a satire of food blogging … our only complaint is that Mr. Bear doesn’t post more often … some of our favorite posts:

The Bruni Digest, by Jules Langbein (a member of the Weiner Philaharmonic) … “In which I sit on a dirt mound somewhere in Brooklyn with my ears pricked, waiting for New York Times head restaurant critic Frank Bruni, who I imagine to be a Venetian count in a huge ruffled collar, to dole out stars from the inside breast pocket of his brocaded chamber robe. This blog is predicated on the suggestion that every Wednesday, in the Times Dining Out section, Frank lays a huge faberge egg of hilarity.” … includes many funny photos … some of our Digest favorites are

forgotten NY
If you love New York, then you must visit, and bookmark, forgotten NY. Run by Kevin Walsh, forgotten NY includes text and photographs of all parts of the City, new and old … he also conducts walking tours … upcoming tours are announced on the home page …
Some of our favorite pages include

An incredibly rich site, forgotten NY will keep you occupied for hours … I bet most of you don’t make it to this sentence …
For more about Kevin Walsh, see the gothamist interview. Thank you, Kevin Walsh, for a wonderful web site.AGINY Highly Recommended and Top 10